The 2015 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include job, wage and salary, and technology growth. In most years, these give a good indication of the underlying structural performance of regional economics.
| Component | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | Score/ Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5-yr Job Growth1 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 101 | 171 | 200 | 92.63 |
| 1-yr Job Growth2 | 15 | 16 | 53 | 171 | 200 | 199 | 87.53 |
| 5-yr Wages & Salaries Growth3 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 200 | 89.99 |
| 1-yr Wages & Salaries Growth4 | 20 | 28 | 12 | 93 | 87 | 163 | 93.26 |
| Short-Term Job Growth5 | 1 | 32 | 37 | 198 | 200 | 175 | 9866.98% |
| 5-yr Relative HT GDP Growth6 | 159 | 142 | 124 | 96 | 103 | 189 | 91.86 |
| 1-yr Relative HT GDP Growth7 | 195 | 139 | 78 | 77 | 50 | 176 | 81.33 |
| High-Tech GDP LQ8 | 184 | 171 | 169 | 177 | 176 | 169 | 0.45 |
| # of HT GDP LQs Over 19 | 131 | 109 | 105 | 144 | 115 | 118 | 3.0 |
